SUELLA BRAVERMAN: Britain is generous … but people who come here illegally are NOT welcome 

As we face an incredibly challenging situation, I want to make it clear what we are doing to stem the number of people arriving here illegally in small boats.

First, I wish to thank the people of Kent and our Border Force, military and other personnel working in the region. I completely understand their frustrations.

The truth is that the British people are fed up with the number of boats reaching our shores.

It cannot be right that thousands of people are paying smugglers – organised criminals – to make a lethally dangerous journey across the Channel before disappearing into the black economy or seeking financial support from taxpayers.

It is not right that the British people are picking up a £2 billion bill every year because the asylum system has been broken by an unprecedented wave of illegal migration.

It is not right that those who seek to undermine and abuse our system are jumping the queue, taking resources from the people who are in genuine need.

While some critics provide only fairytale suggestions and the Labour Party champions open borders and has no desire or plan to crack down on illegal migration, I am working night and day on real, viable solutions. Our joint UK-France intelligence cell has dismantled 55 organised crime groups since 2020.

In the coming weeks, we’ll take further steps to bear down on the people-smuggling gangs operating on French beaches. The French authorities, with our support, have stopped more than 29,000 illegal crossings since the start of the year – twice as many as last year – and destroyed more than 1,000 boats. My French counterpart, Gerald Darmanin, and I are working to build greater co-operation, and make better use of UK surveillance technology.

The Prime Minister and President Macron have also vowed to step up our actions.

We need to overcome all legal obstacles and get our Rwanda partnership working – we are defending it vigorously in the courts. If illegal migrants know that if they cross the Channel, they will be swiftly transported to Rwanda – or any other country we make an agreement with – the incentive to jump the queue will fall away.

We are also working closely with the Albanian government to encourage returns and processing cases and removals as quickly as possible.

Many Albanians spuriously claim to be victims of ‘modern slavery’ – despite paying thousands to come here. This is an abuse of our system that must stop. We need a system that focuses on real victims of slavery – not on those trying to circumvent our immigration rules.

Where domestic or international law impedes our sovereign right to defend our borders, I will act.

We must also wean ourselves off the use of expensive hotels.

While taking steps to tackle crossings, we will work tirelessly to cut our asylum-processing times. We have already seen a successful pilot scheme in Leeds, which has more than doubled the processing of claims for each case worker, and we are now rolling this out across the country.

Yet, I must be frank – we still have a long way to go.

There is no one silver bullet and we’ll redouble our efforts on multiple fronts to end the trade of these evil gangs.

This will require a whole-of-Government approach.

Britain is a generous and kind country. We always treat everyone in a humane way.

But people who come here illegally from safe countries are not welcome and should not expect to stay.

Any other approach would be unaffordable, make us less safe, and be extremely unfair on everyone else.

This is the plan the British people want. I will deliver it.